1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of vehicle-dock apparatus which relatively positions and holds the vehicle and dock during load transfer between the vehicle and the dock, and especially where the vehicle is a trailer body adapted for transport by a conventional truck tractor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Land transport of freight is accomplished by motor truck or tractor-trailers as well known in the art. In order to transfer freight to or from a truck or trailer body, it is common to position the truck or trailer body adjacent a loading dock which is substantially level with the floor of the truck or trailer after which the load transfer, frequently with a fork-lift truck is made. In order to prevent relative movement between the dock and the vehicle, and thus prevent serious injury to the loading equipment, the freight, and most importantly the workmen who are transfering the load, wheel blocks have been placed against the vehicle wheels. These have proved unsatisfactory since the blocks frequently shifted in position after being placed under the wheels so that the vehicle would move away from the dock, and also the blocks frequently are not used due to oversight on the part of the workmen. Also, since the block storage was required between uses, they were often not conveniently available and therefore not used at all. Certain manually operated locking devices have been attempted in the past but due to the difficulty of use requiring manual actuation after maneuvering the vehicle into loading position, and the requirement of substantial additional apparatus to the vehicle body and the lack of adjustability and uniformity between the vehicle and docking latch devices, have not been successful.